Tees Business Tees Business issue 11 | Page 5

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 5 /NEWS / OPINION The Artizan cocktail bar in Linthorpe Village, Middlesbrough, has already expanded after opening this summer. HERE’S WHY HE’S TOP OF THE BILL RAISE YOUR GLASSES TO COCKTAIL BAR’S SUCCESS T hriving gin and cocktail bar, The Artizan, has almost doubled its capacity after carrying out extension work to meet demand from Teessiders looking to enjoy their wide range of drinks. Since opening during the summer on Roman Road in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, The Artizan has proved a huge hit with its locally-themed, barrel-aged cocktails such as The Transporter, Captain Cook, Cleveland Hills and its marquee offering, the Welder’s Margarita. And its owners moved to meet the growing demand by investing in extending the public space to increase seating capacity from 31 to 57. Paul Wood, who runs The Artizan along with brothers Andrew and Anthony Hynes, said: “We’re proud to have built the venue ourselves and we again carried out all the extension work S ourselves, too. “Demand has exceeded even our own high expectations, so we made a decision to extend into the adjoining space that we had planned to lease out – but it was clear that we needed the space. So what was once Peppercorns Sandwich Shop is now part of our venue. “We’ve had fantastic feedback about the look and feel of the place that helps to create a great atmosphere and ambience while enjoying what we think is the best cocktails and gin menu on Teesside. “We’re open seven days a week, but we’re attracting people in from Yarm, Redcar and right across Teesside on Fridays and Saturdays, while we’ve quickly built up a number of Linthorpe regulars, which is great.” Scottish airline launches two new flights from Tees airport cotland’s Airline Loganair is to launch new services linking Aberdeen, Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) and Norwich, starting in October. The regional airline will provide up to three weekday non-stop flights between the Granite City and DTVA with one flight on Sunday and will restore air links between the North-East and East Anglia after two decades by introducing a non-stop flight six days a week linking DTVA with Norwich. The move will see the introduction of Loganair’s first routes at DTVA but adds to its existing presence in Norwich, where the airline employs 25 staff including pilots, cabin crew and engineers to provide regular flights to Edinburgh, Manchester and Jersey. Both of the new DTVA routes will benefit from a codeshare with Loganair’s sister company bmi Regional. Passengers travelling via Aberdeen can access easy onward links to Orkney, Shetland, the Danish seaport of Esbjerg and Norway’s capital, Oslo. Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair’s managing director, said: “Commencing operations from Durham Tees Valley Airport is another important milestone in Loganair’s 55-year history and we’re thrilled to mark the occasion.” The announcement was welcomed by DTVA chief executive Steve Gill as a “real shot in the arm for the airport – and very good news for the region’s business community”. Rarely could an accolade be more appropriate than the one won by my friend Bill Scott, voted Teesside’s Most Inspiring Businessperson by his peers in the Tees Business poll you can read about in this issue. Inspiring is absolutely the right word to describe Bill. He has led Wilton Engineering – the business he built from scratch – back in the right direction with a hugely impressive breakthrough into the offshore wind sector. What this is proof of is that Bill’s got a really rare quality in business in that not only can he achieve success but he can adapt too. He’s clearly good at building businesses and making money but what sets Bill apart from others is that he’s also so generous with his time, energy and with his own money. The great thing about Bill is that if he can help someone he will. I think that’s a fantastic quality. Fair play to anyone who builds a great business and creates jobs – Teesside needs plenty of that – but we should be much more willing to champion those who do all that but also support the community too. In my opinion, he is a perfect role model for entrepreneurs of all ages who want to build a successful business. He sets standards in ambition, job creation, compassion and generosity. If only we could clone Bill and create another 50 of him! Teesside would then be the most thriving, positive and energetic city in the whole world. To the man in the street Bill Scott isn’t a household name, but he really should be. He deserves all of the accolades and I congratulate him on this recognition. Andy Preston Chairman, Teesside Philanthropic Foundation Get involved in the Winter 2017 issue of Tees Business – email [email protected]